At last we're at the business end of the fourth TeamLiquid Map Contest. We were once again fortunate to be able to work with Blizzard on this contest and they will be considering the winning maps for use for WCS Season 3. This season threw a curve ball at the map making community, requesting that they only submit 3-5 player maps for the contest. The result of that was one of the most diverse and interesting set of maps we've seen in a while.

But as multi-spawn maps introduce new complications above simple 2 player maps, we knew balance was going to be something that would need to be carefully examined before being considered by Blizzard. This new challenge for whomever the judges were resulted in us reaching out to the TeamLiquid Strategy team to perform the bulk of the judging duties this season. Our faith in the Strategy team was not misplaced, and they thoroughly examined and tested the potential finalists over the last week and a bit. The result is a set of balanced and interesting finalists that we're excited for you to play on.

We strongly encourage everyone to look at the larger overviews of the maps before casting their vote, simply click on the map image to be taken to a high resolution version of the map. The 1v1 maps also contain comments from the Strategy team about how they expect the map to play out as well as providing insight as to what they saw in each of the maps. But before we give you the results, we would like to explain the judging process that the maps went through this season.

You'll have an opportunity to vote for your favourite maps at the end of this post. Votes will be open until Monday, May 05 12:00am GMT (GMT+00:00).

All of the maps will be shortly uploaded to Battle.net and can be found by searching for the [TLMC] tag.

As with every season of TLMC, the maps were initially screened for quality so that the judges could have a manageable list of maps to fully evaluate. The screening process whittled down the entries to approximately 25 1v1 maps and 12 team maps. The maps were arranged in a spreadsheet containing no information which would identify the maps are belonging to any particular author as to avoid any author biases.

At this point the TL Strategy team took over the judging process. They carefully considered each of the shortlisted maps and eventually settled upon 12 1v1 maps that they wished to test extensively and which team play maps they wanted to put through. The 12 1v1 maps were extensively played by the whole team with an aim to assessing balance and whether or not the maps features were viable or not. At the conclusion of this process the TL Strategy team had settled on 5 1v1 maps which they felt were balanced and enjoyable to play on.

With the judging process now explained, I'm proud to present the finalists for this season of the TeamLiquid Map Contest.

The least standard map in final voting, Foxtrot represents quite possibly, the greatest push towards "non-standard" that doesn't rely on gimmicks, poor map design, or by providing any one race an overwhelming advantage over another. The map structure with two high ground lanes in the centre is reminiscent of Cloud Kingdom, one of the greatest maps in StarCraft 2 history, and the winner of the first TLMC.

The base layout is non-intuitive and provides for a lot of strategic depth. For now, we believe the map's main focus will be securing one of the main ridges on the map providing control over various attack paths and protecting most of your bases on the low ground. Keep in mind, there are no vertical spawns on this map, which might take some getting used to. Mining out a gold base does more than provide you with minerals on this map, it gives you an additional attack path. However, the gold base is extremely exposed, making the choice to take it a tactical one. Cross positions will also give a slightly different set of tactical choices and attack paths compared to spawning horizontally making this map almost like a two in one map without relying on top/bottom vs left/right asymmetry.



The most macro oriented map in the pool of finalists, Deadwing provides players with a fairly straightforward progression of bases starting with the natural up to the fifth base. Its a large, open map that can punish attacks that are poorly thought out, or well scouted especially in cross positions. In horizontal and vertical positions, dedicated attacks are more likely to succeed due to the narrower attack paths but at the cost of counter attacks becoming more powerful. The central architecture is also varied enough that once you have a large army you can account for flanks and counter attacks when moving across the map regardless of spawn position. The destructible rocks leading into the natural from both sides also provide a strategic depth and variety we are excited to see play out on this map.



Biome is a an extremely unique map as it is the only five player map we have ever seen. With forced cross positions, you will always have two bases to scout in order to find your opponent. Rotational symmetry often leads to concerns regarding the third and fourth bases favouring one spawn over another. Surprisingly, Biome seems to break this curse by making everyone's third and fourth bases relatively easy to take and forcing cross spawns.

Well, with easy third and fourth bases you might assume that the games are boring with a lot of turtle play however the air space in this map ensures that this cannot happen. You cannot simply contain your opponent to 4 bases and take the rest of the map. The 360 degree air space you need to defend poses a challenge to turtle play we haven't quite yet seen in StarCraft 2 to date. Warp prisms, dropships, and mutalisks will always be in the back of your mind while playing on this map. The large center also provides a lot of options to outmaneuver any attempt at a contain. Playing this map is all about controlling the center area while staying protected against the gigantic airspace around your four bases.



Catellena is the only three player map in the final round of voting and has spawn positions located at 1, 5 and 9. Three player maps naturally give one player a spawn advantage over his opponent and often result in aggressive strategies being used. The rotational symmetry naturally gives players the spawn advantage going in a counter-clockwise direction; meaning easy access to both the forward 3rd directly below the main and an easy access ridge toward the other 3rd. Given that the initial main to main rush distances are quite long, but third base distances being quite near, we at TLStrat foresee a lot of strategies on this map revolving around denying third bases. Protoss players will have a slightly more difficult time taking their third on this map but it is by no means impossible. Zerg players will find that as the game goes longer, their bases become increasingly difficult to defend as they get closer to the center of the map.

Plus the octopus looks fantastic



Kamala Park, like waystation, is a two in one map. Players will always spawn in cross positions, but top left/bottom right (industrial) spawns will provide a different architecture than top right/bottom left (grassy) spawns on the map. The two different starting positions on Kamala Park play similarly to one another but the slight differences provide just enough variation without creating positional imbalances that greatly favour any single race. A good mix of open space and ramps in the centre of the map will emphasize strong positioning when entering into any engagement.

The high ground third base is an interesting aspect of the map. The "industrial" spawn position will find the high ground third more difficult to take, as the destructible debris needs to be destroyed in order to make it more easily defensible when taken early. In the "grassy" spawn positions, the third base is easier to take, with the dcestructible debris making it easier to hold against aggression. The high ground third also provides strong defensive options thanks to the ramp. Losing control of this high ground gives your opponent a very powerful forward position to attack you from making its defence absolutely critical in a macro game. Free airspace on the edges of the map is also limited making drop play more difficult to hide from your opponent, weakening harass oriented play on this map considerably.

Now that you've had a chance to see the finalists, it's time for the public to have their say on what maps they think are the best. Remember, high placing maps will be considered for use in the ladder by Blizzard so a vote for your favorite map may mean that you'll see that map in a future ladder season!

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